


Humble Beginnings

by Nesh



Series: Humble Beginnings [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Explorers of Darkness & Explorers of Sky
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Fusion, F/M, Pikachu was Mystery Dungeon Protagonist, Pokemon Platinum Version plot, Post-Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Explorers of Darkness & Explorers of Sky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-23 03:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30049008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nesh/pseuds/Nesh
Summary: Ash's journey takes an unexpected turn on the day he gets Pikachu when a call between Professor Oak and Professor Rowan inspires him to go to Sinnoh right away. There he meets Dawn and travels with her. The path to achieving their dreams is long and hard for the pair of rookies, but great things always have humble beginnings.
Relationships: Hikari | Dawn/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Series: Humble Beginnings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2210544
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	1. A Sinnoh Start

Ash Ketchum's day had started far from how he'd planned; today was supposed to be one of the best days of his life, the day he got his first Pokémon, and he'd overslept! He'd rushed all the way over to Professor Oak's lab in his pajamas so that he could get his first Pokémon, he just hoped there was one left for him. He'd already had the displeasure of running into Gary who claimed he'd gotten the best Pokémon from Professor Oak, who happened to be Gary's grandfather. Ash didn't put much stock into that, Professor Oak didn't seem the type that would play favorites.

"So you finally decided to show up after all." The gray haired Pokémon Professor stepped out of his lab and greeted Ash. While the man's voice was kind it was clear that he was exasperated by the young boy's tardiness.

"Oh, Professor Oak, where's my Pokémon?" Ash asked.

"Your Pokémon?" Oak asked bluntly.

"Yes, I'm ready," Ash said.

"You look like you're ready for bed, not for Pokémon training. I hope you don't think you're gonna train in your pajamas." Oak said as he looked Ash over with a frown. It was plain to see that the man was _not_ impressed.

"Oh no, Professor, I got messed up this morning, and I was a little late, but believe me, I'm ready for a Pokémon," The young Trainer to be pleaded. Oak stepped wordlessly back into his lab and Ash followed assuming that it was what the older man wanted him to do. Anything further was cut off by the sound of Oak's videophone ringing.

"I have to take this," Oak said as he looked at the screen to find out who was calling. He answered and Ash could see that a man with a large white mustache was one the other end of the line. If Ash had to guess he was even older than Oak, "Ah, Professor Rowan, how are things in the Sinnoh region?" Oak's tone was jovial, this Rowan guy must have been a friend of his.

Sinnoh? He'd never heard of that place. Ash leaned in closer, now intrigued by the conversation that now involved far off places. He was going to be a Pokémon Master, and he had no doubt that this Sinnoh place had lots of cool Pokémon.

"Things are going quite well over here. Sinnoh's many unique Pokémon and legends make it the perfect place to conduct my research. Speaking of which I called to let you know I'm sending over the new Pokédex data I've gathered so you can incorporate it into yours," Rowan said.

"Thank you, I look forward to seeing what your research has uncovered, though I wish you had called a bit sooner, the new crop of Trainers is leaving Pallet today and I would have liked to have given them the most up to date Pokédex. Most of them already have." Oak said, glancing at Ash.

"Yes, well I've been quite busy preparing for new Trainers myself, otherwise it would have been ready sooner," Rowan explained.

"I understand, I appreciate the call, old friend," With that Oak ended the call and turned back to Ash. "Now I believe you said something about wanting a Pokémon young man." Oak was fiddling with a handheld machine of some kind.

"I thought about it a lot, and it took me a long time, but I finally decided to choose... Squirtle!" Ash picked up the ball, only to have it flop open and reveal that it was empty.

"Already taken by someone who was on time, " Oak said

"Oh, I wish I hadn't overslept. But now I would choose as my Pokémon... Bulbasaur! What?" This ball was also empty.

"That was also taken buy a kid who wasn't late," Oak explained.

"Oh, well that's no problem, because my Pokémon will be... Charmander." Another empty ball. This couldn't be happening. This had to be a nightmare, he was destined to start his journey to become a Pokémon Master today.

"The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, uhh, the Pokémon."

"Does that mean all the Pokémon are gone?" Ash's heart sank.

"Well, there is still one left, but I-" Oak never got to finish that sentence.

"Professor, I'll take it!" Ash's eagerness had transformed into impetuousness. Normally Ash was a bit more polite than this, but his dream was at stake here.

"I think I should warn you, there is a problem with this last one." Oak said.

"I have to have a Pokémon." It didn't matter to Ash at all what it was, he'd take a Magikarp at this point. He wanted nothing more than to start his journey and he'd deal with whatever he had to in order to live his dream.

"Well, in that case..." Oak hesitated before pressing a button on the mechanical pedestal that held the Pokéballs for the starter Pokémon. A new Pokéball rose up in the center of the other three; it looked normal except for the fact that it had a lighting bolt painted on it.

Ash grabbed the ball from the pedestal and pressed the button to open it. The room was lit in a golden hue as energy poured out of the capsule. After all the spectacle the Pokémon that came out was a little disappointing if Ash were completely honest, but at least it was his; it was just a yellow mouse with red cheeks.

"Pikachu," the Pokémon said.

"Its name is Pikachu." Professor Oak said, formally introducing the Pokémon.

"Oh, it's so cute, it's the best of all!" Finally he had his own Pokémon, this was the most amazing thing ever to ever happen to him he could already tell that he and Pikachu were going to be the best of friends. Together they would conquer the Pokémon League.

"You'll see," Oak warned. That probably should have set alarm bells off in Ash's head, but he was so thrilled to have his starter Pokémon that he barely even register what the Pokémon Professor had said, let alone begun to take it seriously.

"Oh, hi, Pikachu." Ash picked his Pokémon up to hug it. That was something perfectly natural for a beginning Trainer to do with their first Pokémon. Unfortunately for Ash, Pikachu wasn't the average starter Pokémon and was none too pleased with the friendly treatment.

"Pika... " The Pokémon muttered before unleashing untold volts from its cheeks that proceeded to course through Ash's body giving a sensation not unlike being struck by natural lightning. It was a testament to the boy's hardiness that he was still standing considering that Pikachu's evolved from had been documented knocking out Indian elephants with a touch.

It's also known as an electric mouse. It's usually shy, but can sometimes have an electrifying personality." Oak said.

"I see what you mean."

"Shocking, isn't it? Now take these, your Pokédex and Pokéballs." Oak handed the items to Ash. Unfortunately Pikachu didn't seem to appreciate the man's pun and shocked them both.

"Thank you!" Ash ground out through the pain.

"You're welcome!" Oak practically screamed through the pain **.** Once the numbness from the electric shock had passed they stepped outside. Ash was surprised to find his mother waiting for him as well as what looked like half of Pallet. "Mom?"

"Oh, Ash, I'm so proud of you! You're finally going to fulfill your dream and start your Pokémon training. But I'm, I'm going to miss you so much. Oh, my little boy! I packed your sneakers and jeans, nice clean shirts and underwear and your favorite snacks and some hot chocolate in case you want something hot, but be careful not to burn yourself! And a pair of rubber gloves to do your laundry and a new clothes line to hang it out to dry-" His mother rattled off items as she shoved them into his backpack.

"Mom, you're embarrassing me in front of all these people! Don't you know I'm a big kid now? Pokémon Trainers can take care of themselves. Besides I'm not leaving quite yet."

"I understand. Hmmm? That's your Pokémon?" His mother asked finally catching sight of Pikachu.

"Yep that's my Pokémon. With Pikachu at my side I'll get all the Pokémon in the world," Ash declared.

"I thought all Pokémon stayed inside their Pokéballs, why doesn't this one?" Delia asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, right. Pikachu get in the ball now." He tossed the Pokéball at Pikachu, only to have the mouse Pokémon repeatedly bounce it back, much to his annoyance.

"Oh you're playing catch! You're friends already!" Delia seemed positively giddy at this.

"Uh, Sure. Pikachu and I are real pals! Right?" In this case Ash was actually glad for his mother's naivety, at least she wouldn't think he was incompetent.

"But it's a little weird," She said.

Ash felt a chill go through him, this wouldn't end well. "Weird?" Clearly offended Pikachu shocked the whole crowd.

"Those rubber gloves your mom packed will come in handy," Oak said.

"Why?"

"Rubber doesn't conduct electricity." Oak explained. Soon the crowd thinned leaving only Ash, Pikachu, Delia, and Professor Oak outside the lab. At this point all the humans were trying to keep a safe distance from Pikachu while they caught their breath.

"So I guess you'll be heading out toward Viridian City as soon as you get changed, won't you, honey? It's what your father did when he started." Ash paused, he _did_ want to see the Kanto region, but this was his home, he could always come back here later and see it. He was a Pokémon Trainer now, he wanted to travel to distant lands and thanks to Professor Oak's phone call he had just the place in mind.

"No, I think I'm going to try heading out for the Sinnoh region instead. I heard they've got a lot of cool Pokémon there that can't be found in Kanto." He said shaking his head and smiling.

"Sinnoh, but that's so far away. I know you're going to travel now that you're a Trainer, but I didn't expect you to head off to a new region so soon Ash." Delia said.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the call I got from Professor Rowan would it, Ash? While Sinnoh does have many varieties of Pokémon that can't be found here in the Kanto region, I'm hesitant to recommend that a new Trainer travel quite so far to start their journey, especially when that Trainer has only that Pikachu with them. Perhaps it would best if you traveled more locally first. Though if you do decide to go to Sinnoh then you're incredibly lucky you were late; you're the only one who got the Pokédex upgrade Professor Rowan sent me," Oak said.

"I can travel through Kanto any time. I want to go to Sinnoh and see what kind of Pokémon live there. As for Pikachu, I'm sure I can win him over!" Ash declared.

Oak let out a tired sigh. "Well I can't stop you, you're legally allowed to do as you wish now that you have a Pokémon. The least I can do is help you prepare. I have a map of Sinnoh in my lab somewhere you can use, and I'll call ahead to let Professor Rowan know that you're heading his way; make sure to check in with him, keeping in contact with the regional professor is a good thing for any starting Trainer to do."

"Thanks, Professor Oak!" Ash said beaming.

"Don't thank me yet, Ash. By going to Sinnoh, you're leaving a lot of your safety net behind. You may soon find that going on a Pokémon journey is far more difficult than you imagined and with you being so far away your mother won't be able to provide you with any help. The next ship bound for Sinnoh leaves in a week. I suggest you prepare."

* * *

Ash was quickly discovering that sea travel could be a bit of a pain. Looking a bit green in the face he rushed to the railing and evacuated his stomach contents into the ocean below. Ash felt a strong hand pat him on the back and turned his head to find one of the sailors next to him.

"First time on a boat, kid?" The sailor asked.

"Yeah, I grew up in Pallet my whole life. I'm just starting my Pokémon journey. I'm Ash Ketchum." Ash extended a hand to the man. The sailor accepted the handshake giving Ash a good look at how calloused the man's hands were.

"Name's Curtis," The man grunted. "Pallet, ain't that Professor Oak's neck of the woods? What are you doin' with a Pikachu if you live there? A parent give it to ya, or are ya just rich enough to afford a Pokémon on your own?"

"No, nothing like that, I overslept and missed the starters being given out. Pikachu was all that was left and I'm starting to see why." Ash said. Pikachu's attitude had made him the butt of many jokes so far on this trip, Curtis was the first sailor on the boat not to make some sort of jab at him. He knew the men didn't mean any harm though so he'd let the jokes pass.

"Yeah that Pikachu of yours is a bit of a handful." Curtis bellowed out a laugh. "So that's how you ended up with that thing as a starter huh? Yeah, I figured a Pallet kid would have Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle, that's why I was confused. I mean you do know why the regional professors give out starter Pokémon, don'tcha, Ash?"

Ash shook his head. "I never really thought about it," He admitted.

"Well ya see, Pokémon are expensive, most people have their first Pokémon gifted to 'em by a family member, or if they're really lucky they're rich enough to buy one, so most people don't start off with a regional starter Pokémon. Heck, even I didn't, but for a different reason; I always knew I wanted to be a sailor and in certain professions having a certain Pokémon is seen as a rite of passage of sorts. In the case of a sailor like me it's usually a Water-type, or a Machop that we start off with. The three starter Pokémon are given to kids who want to become Trainers, but can't get their first Pokémon any other way; the bonus is they're generally easy to raise," Curtis explained.

Ash nodded, that made sense. "My Pikachu is anything but easy to raise. I get the feeling he really doesn't like me; I'm not sure what to do, Curtis."

"Some Pokémon are just like that, real spitfires. Here's some advice kid: Don't let it get to ya. That Pikachu of yours is real stubborn, there ain't no denyin' that. The trick is to just keep tryin' to win it over, 'cause once ya do, you'll never have a Pokémon more loyal. It's a bit like taming a wild Rapidash, ya gotta be firm, but gentle and understanding. Once you win that Pikachu's trust you'll never find a better partner."

"And how exactly do I win Pikachu over? He doesn't seem to want anything to do with me. I'm starting to wish I'd gotten a different Pokémon. If Pikachu doesn't start listening to me my journey isn't going to get anywhere." Ash mused.

"I can't help ya there, kid, every Pokémon is different. Just remember that respect is earned, not taken. You're a Kanto kid, why are ya headin' to Sinnoh?"

"I heard about all the cool Pokémon in the Sinnoh region and wanted to see them for myself."

"Yeah Sinnoh's amazin', Ash, one of the most beautiful regions in the world, with many amazin' Pokémon, ya made a great choice goin' there. Say where is Pikachu?"

"Back in my cabin, he really doesn't like being around me."

"Well you might want to go get him. We'll be coming up on Sandgem Town any minute now." Curtis said.

* * *

Dawn Berlitz had barely caught her breath by the time she got back to Professor Rowan's lab with Piplup. This little guy had caused a lot of trouble, fighting with Chimchar and causing the two Sinnoh starters to run off. Dawn had elected to go and try to find the two as one of them could be her first Pokémon.

The experience had not been a pleasant one. She and Piplup and nearly been eaten by a group of angry Ariados, but luckily with a little teamwork they'd manged to escape and Chimchar had been found by the lab assistants; not an ideal start to her journey, but as much as Dawn liked to tell people there was no need to worry things rarely worked out as planned for her. All that was left now was for Dawn to choose her starter.

"Now it's time for you to pick your starter Pokémon. These are three that are available to first time Trainers in the Sinnoh region: the Fire-type Chimchar, the Water-type Piplup, and the Grass-type Turtwig," Professor Rowan said. "Do you know which one you want?"

"Yes sir, I do. Piplup!" Dawn watched poor Chimchar face plant as he was sure that Dawn would choose him, she looked Piplup in the eye and spoke, "Piplup we've already been through an awful lot; we're already a team."

"You'll need Piplup's Pokéball." Professor Rowan handed Dawn the ball and she recalled Piplup. Before anything else could happen the door the lab opened revealing a boy her age wearing a blue jacket and a baseball cap. Oddly he was wearing rubber gloves and was dragging a Pikachu behind him... was it tied up in a clothesline?

"This is Professor Rowan's laboratory right? I'm Ash Ketchum from the Kanto region. Professor Oak told me to stop by here before I started my journey. I really hope I'm not in the wrong place," The boy, Ash said.

"Yes, this is my laboratory, Oak said you'd be stopping by. I can see why he told me to watch out for you." Rowan seemed as unimpressed with the boy as she was. As far as she could tell Ash couldn't even figure out how to use a Pokéball, that didn't exactly inspire confidence about his abilities.

Ash finally caught on to the fact that Professor Rowan was staring at Pikachu and the makeshift leash. "Yeah, sorry about that, this Pikachu is kind of a handful; he refuses to go into his Pokéball and doesn't seem to like me very much. I'm doing what I can to keep it under control." Ash scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I see," Rowan's frown showed that the man was still less than pleased with this development, "Ash, this is Dawn, she just starting out on her journey, just like you. If I may make a recommendation, why don't you two travel together? Since you're both beginners, you'll be safer that way."

Dawn had no real desire to travel with Ash, he seemed like he'd be more a hindrance than anything else, but one stern look from the Professor told her that he would have no argument. If she had to guess this arrangement was more for Ash's sake than her own. After all, if Ash couldn't get Pikachu to obey him he was likely to get mauled by a wild Pokémon and Dawn didn't need a death on her conscience.

"Alright," Dawn said with a nod.

"Yeah, sounds like fun!" Dawn would say one thing for Ash, he certainly was eager. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, but she still had some serious reluctance about this.

"Anything can happen on your journey, so if you two need anything feel free to call," Rowan said.

With that done Ash and Dawn set off toward Jubilife City, it wasn't like there was anywhere else to go. Dawn let Piplup out of his Pokéball. "You know, Piplup, I'm really psyched, but I'm starting to wonder what a beginning Pokémon Trainer like me does first," She said. Piplup looked up at her. "I know let's catch us some Pokémon."

"Who's that Pokémon?" Ash asked pulling out his Pokédex.

"Piplup, the Penguin Pokémon. Although not the most sure-footed, it is proud nonetheless, getting right back up after a fall with head held high." The device narrated. Piplup seemed embarrassed about what the entry said about his species. Pikachu laughed at the entry causing Piplup to chirp angrily at him. The two Trainers kept their Pokémon apart.

The group kept walking until they saw a Pokémon in the grass. It was one that Dawn recognized on sight. It was _very_ popular on the Contest circuit after all. "A Buneary I'm going to catch it!" She said trembling with excitement She then turned to Piplup. "The best way to catch a Pokémon is to battle it with another Pokémon. Are you ready, Piplup?" The Water-type Pokémon nodded as Dawn pulled out her Pokédex and scanned Buneary.

"Buneary, the Rabbit Pokémon. By quickly extending its rolled-up ears, it can launch a powerful attack against its enemies." The device said.

"We need to watch out for those ears," Dawn mused. "Piplup, use Bubble Beam!" Her starter fired a concentrated stream of bubbles at the wild Buneary who jumped out of the way with ease and landed behind Piplup. "It's fast! Piplup use Peck, Buneary's behind you!"

Piplup turned with a glowing beak and rushed toward the wild Rabbit Pokémon. Buneary once again dodged easily only this time it stuck at Piplup with one of its ears stunning the little penguin. Buneary quickly hopped away.

Dawn rushed over to see if Piplup was okay, but the sound of Pikachu's hysterical laughter cut into the moment. Piplup quickly shook off the stun and fired a Bubble Beam at Pikachu who couldn't dodge because it was still tied up in a clothesline.

"Make Piplup apologize right now!" Ash demanded.

"Make Piplup apologize? Pikachu started it," Dawn shot back.

"Watching that Buneary beat you _was_ kind of funny," Ash said. That was the wrong thing to say. Dawn felt herself flush with anger.

"Well at least Piplup listens to me and I don't have to drag him around on a leash!" She felt remorse immediately as she watched Ash recoil like he'd been slapped.

"I'll show you. I don't need this." Ash quickly took off his rubber gloves and untied Pikachu. "That's better isn't it, Pikachu? We're going to be best friends." Ash smiled at his starter. Pikachu's response was to shock the entire group.

"Ash, please just put that thing back in its Pokéball before it kills us." Dawn pleaded.

"I already told you I can't, Dawn. He just won't go back. If I could I wouldn't have been dragging him around like that."

"Show me," Dawn said. She barely resisted the urge to slap her forehead in embarrassment for the poor boy as he tossed the Pokéball at Pikachu only to have it bounced right back to him. He really didn't know much at all about being a Pokémon Trainer at all did he? I mean she was a rookie herself and had a lot to learn, but apparently Kanto was very lax in its Pokémon Trainer licensing courses.

"That's not how you return a Pokémon, Ash. Here, let me show you." Dawn held out her Pokéball and pressed the button that shot the red beam out of the ball that made the Pokémon it belonged to go back inside. Piplup returned with no fuss.

"Oh so _that's_ what that button is for!" Ash said. He quickly did as Dawn had shown him and returned Pikachu to his Pokéball. He then turned to Dawn. "Thanks Dawn. Hey is Piplup going to be okay? Pikachu's attacks hurt."

"Yeah, Piplup's tough he'll be fine. That Pikachu of yours really is a handful huh?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure how I'm going to be a Pokémon Trainer when my only Pokémon hates me. It's going to make catching other Pokémon pretty difficult."

"No need to worry, Ash, Piplup and I will help you catch a Pokemon."

"You'd really do that for me, Dawn?" Ash seemed a bit shocked.

"Consider it an apology for the mean stuff I said," Dawn explained.

"Don't worry about it, I wasn't exactly being nice either."

* * *

Ash kept staring at Pikachu's Pokéball as he and Dawn walked through a wooded area on their way to Jubilife City, Dawn walked her bike alongside her because he didn't have one. The ball itself was perfectly normal save for a yellow lightning bolt on the red portion. Of course to him it meant much more. Pikachu was his first Pokémon, the one that was meant to accompany him all through his journey. Yet Pikachu wanted nothing to do with him; it seemed like a bit of a bad omen for his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master. He was shook out of his thoughts by Dawn's voice.

"Hey, Ash, do you know what a Pokémon Contest is? My dream is to become a Top Coordinator like my mom," She said.

Ash blinked confused. He'd never heard of a Pokémon Contest before. Then again Sinnoh was a long way from Kanto. "Pokémon Contest, is that what they call the Pokémon League here in Sinnoh?" It was a shot in the dark, he just hoped he was right and didn't look like a total idiot. Dawn had already had to teach him how to get a Pokémon back in its Pokéball.

"No, a Pokémon Contest is something very different from the League. It involves a Trainer showing off the beauty of their Pokémon and their moves. They're holding one in Jubilife City soon so I need to catch and train as many Pokémon as I can before we get there so I'm ready."

"Sounds kind of dumb if you ask me. Pokémon are meant to be strong and tough, not pretty. League battles show true mastery of Pokémon," Ash replied.

"There is battling in Contests, and some amazing strategies and combinations," Dawn said with annoyance in her voice.

"If you say so," Ash said with a shrug.

"Well why don't you watch some and see what you think?" Dawn suggested.

"Sure, why not?" Ash agreed. The conversation stopped as they heard a rustling in the trees and they looked up to find a black Pokémon covered in leaves hanging on a branch.

"Oh it's a Burmy! That'll be a good Pokémon for you, Ash," Dawn said. "Come on out, Piplup." Dawn tossed Piplup's Pokéball and the small penguin Pokémon appeared.

Ash pulled out his Pokédex. "Burmy, the Bag Worm Pokémon. To protect itself from the cold wind, Burmy uses leaves and branches to make a cloak around itself, " The mechanical male voice of Dexter said.

"Catching that cutie should be a peace of cake. Piplup, use Bubble Beam!" Dawn ordered. Piplup followed the order and fired a stream of bubbles at the Burmy knocking it off the tree.

As Burmy recollected the trees and branches that made up its cloak as Piplup's attack had knocked them off Ash pulled out a Pokéball and threw it at the distracted Pokémon. The ball struck its target and opened up converting the Pokémon into energy before closing again. It shook once, twice, three times before making the pinging noise that indicated that Burmy had been caught. Ash rushed over and picked up the Pokéball.

"I caught a Burmy!" He said excitedly. "Thanks for your help, Dawn, Piplup."

"Not a problem, Ash." Dawn offered her had for a high five which Ash happily gave her. "Now you have a Pokémon that will actually listen to you unlike Pikachu so you can catch and train your own Pokémon now. You're one step closer to being a Pokémon Master."

Ash turned away from Dawn so she wouldn't see his smile falter. He hooked Burmy's Pokéball on to his belt and once again began staring at Pikachu's. He was grateful for what Dawn and Piplup had done for him. They weren't under any obligation to help him out and he was sure Burmy would be a great Pokémon. At the same time though Pikachu was his starter.

He _had_ to get Pikachu to trust him somehow. He had no idea where to even start with the stubborn Mouse Pokémon, but that didn't mean he'd stop trying. Right now all he could do was take thing one step at a time and see where the journey took him.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2: A day of Firsts

Ash sat on a rock watching as Dawn cooked them something to eat for lunch. That wasn't a skill he'd picked up back in Kanto and he was really starting to wish he had. Dawn's cooking probably wouldn't be as good as his mother's, but it couldn't be much worse than the slop he was served on the ship on the way to Sinnoh and he was starving anyway. "How long until the food's ready, Dawn?" Ash whined. The question was followed by a comically loud grumbling of the boy's stomach.

"I told you it'll be done soon, you need to be patient, Ash." Dawn waved the wooden spoon she was using toward him in a way that one might associate with a mother admonishing a child. The smile on her face said that she wasn't really put out by Ash's antics though.

"But I'm so hungry!" Ash moaned.

"Learn to cook your own food and you wouldn't have to wait on me," she said. Dawn brought the food over. It wasn't anything particularly fancy, just some instant noodles spiced up with some herbs and berries they'd found. Ash's noodles heavily featured Liechi berries, a nice combination of sweet and spicy that suited his tastes. Dawn's was just as sweet but not spicy, Salac berries being her choice. The difference in flavor profile meant next to nothing to Ash who dug into his meal with gusto.

"This is so good." He didn't really bother to swallow his food before speaking and needless to say his traveling companion wasn't exactly impressed with the resulting mess.

"Ash, don't talk with your mouth full," she chided.

Ash swallowed quickly. "Sorry. You sound like my mom, Dawn," he said with a small smile.

"She's a smart woman, it's good to use your manners in front of a lady."

"We should probably feed our Pokémon too," Ash said.

"Yeah, you're right." Dawn said as she pulled out the dishes and Pokémon food. "Come on out, Piplup!" With a popping noise and shimmering white energy Piplup appeared.

The Water-type Pokémon was quick to figure out why he'd been let out of his Pokéball and went right for the food. His table manners were similar to Ash's which caused the boy to chuckle a bit when he saw the look on Dawn's face.

Ash pulled the two Pokéballs off of his belt and stared at them. Letting Burmy out wouldn't be a problem, at least he hoped not, could anyone's luck really be _that_ bad? Pikachu however concerned him greatly. His starter Pokémon had given him no end of trouble and part of him thought it would be better to just leave him in the Pokéball. Still Pikachu had to eat... "Pikachu, Burmy, it's chow time!" He called as he let his Pokémon out.

Burmy was quite _affectionate_ ,climbing all over Ash as soon as it was out of its Pokéball. The scratching of leaves on his skin was far from a comfortable sensation, but he'd take it over an electric shock any day.

"It looks like Burmy likes you. We made a good choice when we caught that Pokémon for you." Dawn was positively beaming.

"Yeah, I really owe you one for that," Ash said as he gently removed Burmy from his person and pointed it toward the food. That got the Pokemon's attention. Burmy hadn't eaten since it had been caught so it was pretty hungry no doubt.

"No need to worry, Ash, you would have done the same thing for me." Dawn waved off the gratitude as if it were nothing. Ash thought about it for a moment and concluded that his new friend was right so there was no point in dwelling on it.

Ash pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at Burmy. He figured he should get to know his new Pokémon better before using it for anything. The first thing he checked was Burmy's moves. It knew Tackle, Bug Bite, and Protect. Not a bad start. Ash had watched enough League battles to know that for a first stage Bug-type that wasn't bad at all. Then something else on the readout caught his eye. "Hey, my Burmy's a girl!"

"Is that a problem, Ash?" Dawn asked. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head, trying to see if she needed to reevaluate him again.

"Nah, it's not a problem at all. Having an issue with a Pokémon's gender for no good reason is kind of silly," Ash assured her. That seemed to be the right answer as Dawn relaxed immediately.

Burmy however had gotten herself into some trouble. She'd tried to introduce herself to Pikachu who really wanted nothing to do with her at all. She'd brought the food dish that had been put out for Pikachu over to the spot where the Mouse Pokémon was secluding himself in a gesture of friendship. Said gesture was met with a smack to the face from Pikachu's tail when the Bagworm Pokémon kept trying.

Well Ash wasn't having any of that so he rushed over and scooped up Burmy in his arms. From what he could tell she was fine physically, it was more her feelings that got hurt than anything else; having gotten the message Burmy returned to her own bowl of food. "Pikachu, that wasn't nice, you need to apologize to Burmy right now," Ash demanded.

"Pi." Pikachu turned away from Ash and it didn't take a genius to figure out what he'd said.

Ash growled in frustration. "You don't have to like me, I can deal with that, but that doesn't give you a right to be mean to Burmy. She just wants to be your friend Pikachu. If you're going to keep behaving like this I'll just put you back into your Pokéball without food."

It seemed that was the wrong thing to say as Pikachu whirled around and hit Ash with a powerful Thundershock attack. The Electric-type then took a hold of the bowl of food with its mouth and in a impressive display of dexterity scurried up a tree and settled on a particularly sturdy limb to eat his food.

Dawn rushed over to Ash's side and helped him stand back up. "Are you alright?" She asked, concern evident on her face.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I got used to Pikachu's shocks on the way here from Kanto, though I have to say that was one of the nastier ones I've felt. I guess I shouldn't try to get between Pikachu and his food huh?" Ash made a noise somewhere between a groan and a laugh.

"You know you don't have to keep Pikachu right? You can release Pokémon, and from what I've seen it might be better for your health if you just released that one. The human body isn't built for repeated electric shocks," Dawn mused.

Ash shook his head. "Pikachu doesn't respect me. I don't know why but he doesn't, hasn't since the moment we met. If I give up on him now he never will. What kind of Pokémon Trainer would I be if I threw away any Pokémon that was even slightly difficult to deal with. I like Pikachu even if he doesn't like me and when I finally do win him over and earn his respect I'll have a strong and loyal partner by my side." A lot of that was just paraphrasing the advice Curtis had given him on the boat, but Ash had really taken it to heart.

"You're as stubborn as Pikachu, how'd I end up babysitting you two?" Dawn asked, even Ash could tell that the question was rhetorical and thus didn't answer.

For his part Pikachu didn't seem all that impressed with Ash's declaration. The Pokémon responded by rolling his eyes and chucking his empty food dish on the ground. It was going to be a long road to win that one over it seemed.

"Hey, Dawn, could you do me a favor? We both have Pokémon that will listen to us now so I was wondering if we could have a battle. You know Piplup versus Burmy, if you're up for it," Ash said.

"You want to battle me? Why, I want to be a Coordinator, not a League battler like you." Dawn was like a Stantler in headlights at the suggestion of battling him.

"Contest battles aren't that different from League battles are they? I'm just really excited to have my first battle, it's a big part of being a Trainer after all. You're here and we both need practice so I figured why not?" He explained.

Dawn still looked hesitant. "Well okay, I guess it can't hurt." She said at length. The two Trainers stood at opposite ends of the clearing they were in with their Pokémon in front of them. "Shouldn't you put Pikachu back in its Pokéball?"

"Nah, I think seeing this battle might help him come around," Ash said.

"Don't expect me to hold back, if you want to impress Pikachu you'll have to work for it," Dawn replied with a teasing wink.

"I wouldn't want anything less. Now who's going to have the first move?"

"Ash you really need to remember your manners, ladies first, we just talked about this." Dawn admonished with a teasing smile; if Ash was reading it right she wasn't being serious, but he didn't see any harm in letting her have the first move. "Go Piplup, use Peck!" Piplup charged toward Burmy, his beak glowing with with Flying-type power.

There were many aspects of being a Pokémon Trainer that Ash wasn't very good at at this stage in his journey, type match ups was not one of those things. Being an avid watcher of the Pokémon League, specifically Kanto's local League the Indigo Plateau, he had a good grasp about what types of moves were super effective against the various types of Pokémon. So he knew that a Flying-type attack like Peck would be bad news for his Bug-type Burmy if it hit. Of course he had no intention of letting his Pokémon get hit.

"Burmy, dodge it!" Ash called. Unfortunately his Pokémon was just a bit too slow to avoid Piplup's attack and was repeatedly struck by the little penguin's beak. It looked like it hurt quite a bit, although that was to be expected when taking a super effective attack. "Knock Piplup away with Tackle!"

Burmy flung her body at Piplup with all the force she could muster. While Burmy wasn't quite as heavy as Piplup the Water-type wasn't exactly known for being surefooted so the attack had its desired effect. Piplup went flying and landed in front of Dawn giving Burmy some breathing space, at least for the moment.

"Are you okay, Piplup?" The blue-haired Trainer looked at her Pokémon with some concern. For his part Piplup got up quickly enough, though Burmy's attack had clearly hurt him. No one could ever say that the Sinnoh starter wasn't a tough little Pokémon. "Use Bubble Beam!"

Piplup followed the command, letting out a concentrated stream of bubbles toward his opponent. They were fast, Ash didn't have time to tell Burmy to dodge before they hit. Just like the day before when Dawn and Piplup helped Ash catch Burmy the Bubble Beam knocked off Burmy's cloak of leaves, sending the Bug-type Pokémon scrambling to put it back together.

Ash growled in frustration, they didn't need this right now. "Your cloak isn't important right now! You're a sitting Ducklett out there, Burmy, focus on the battle!" Burmy wasn't listening though, she seemed to care more about her cloak than anything else right now. Ash's heart sank, he knew that Dawn wouldn't pass up this opportunity, he certainly wouldn't had the situation been reversed.

The smirk on Dawn's face told Ash that she was enjoying this, and if he were to be completely honest he was too, despite the fact that he was losing. Sure, he would much rather be winning the battle but what did that matter right now? He was a real Pokémon Trainer having a real Pokémon battle, just like he'd always dreamed; right now, at this moment, that was all that mattered.

"Use Peck!" Dawn called. Of course she'd called for that attack, it was the best one she had to battle Burmy with and the Bug-type Pokémon was still busy putting her cloak back together. Ash knew he had ti do something, but what? Piplup was barreling down on Burmy as fast as his legs could carry him, beak glowing a ready to deliver another painful Flying-type attack. That was when it hit him.

"Burmy, use Protect!" It was gamble. The move would work, that wasn't the problem. No, the question was whether Burmy would use it or just keep scrambling for her cloak. Thankfully it seemed the pain of Piplup's last Peck had left an impression on her, she stopped gathering leaves long enough to project a green spherical force field around herself that blocked Piplup's attack.

Ash smiled as he saw that Burmy had finished putting her cloak back together while under the shield of Protect. They were back in this battle now and Piplup was nice and close too; that would make their next move almost impossible to avoid. "Use Bug Bite!"

Burmy's teeth began to glow white and the grew slightly longer as she prepared to unleash her attack. Bug Bite would pack a little bit of an extra punch because both it and Burmy were Bug-type, thus it got the same type attack bonus or STAB. It wouldn't be quite as powerful as Piplup's Bubble Beam which got a STAB boost as well, but it would still do damage.

The best part was that with Piplup so close he really didn't have a chance to react. Burmy sank her fangs into Piplup's fin and clamped down. Piplup's reaction was to be expected, he cried out in pain and began flailing around trying to shake Burmy off of his flipper. Unfortunately for him the Bug-type didn't seem like she had any intention of letting go, and that suited Ash just fine.

"Calm down, Piplup!" Dawn said,trying to soothe he Pokémon, likely so she could give him some kind of strategy to get Burmy off. The Water-type wasn't listening though. "Use Peck!" That got the little penguin's attention and his beak once again began to glow.

This wasn't good, he didn't know how much more punishment Burmy could take. "Burmy, get out of there!" He'd given the order just in time, Burmy disengaged and hopped away from her opponent. This battle wasn't over quite yet.

"Piplup, Bubble Beam!" It seemed Dawn wasn't going to give them any respite in this battle, good he didn't really want her to. Still Ash had a decision to make that could change the flow of battle. Did he tell Burmy to try and dodge Bubble Beam and risk getting her cloak knocked off again or should he tell her to use Protect?

Protect had a chance to fail if used consecutively, but did Dawn know that? If she did then he was leaving himself open for a follow up attack. Of course if Bubble Beam hit Burmy would be in just as much trouble, if not more. "Use Protect!" Ash ordered finally. The stream of bubbles from Piplup's Bubble Beam smashed against the force field of Protect and kicked up a series of small explosions but Burmy remained unharmed by the attack.

"Finish this up with Peck Piplup!" Dawn called before the smoke had even cleared. It appeared that she _did_ know about Protect's flaw. Well that was inconvenient. He'd have to do something to turn this around. Then an idea struck him, it was crazy, but it just might work. Every attack he'd seen from Piplup had come from his mouth...

"Burmy, use Bug Bite on the top of Piplup's head!" Ash ordered. The smoke from the earlier explosions had mostly cleared now so both Ash and Dawn could see Burmy leap up and latch on to Piplup's head with her elongated glowing fangs, and just like before she had no intention of letting go.

"Biting the top of Piplup's head, what kind of move is that?" Dawn demanded.

"A smart one, you can't hit her with Peck or Bubble Beam now," Ash replied, smirking as he did so.

"You think you're so clever don't you, Ash? Well you don't know everything about Piplup." Dawn was clearly flustered by this turn of events. "Use Bide, Piplup!"

Piplup hunkered down and began to convert the damage he was taking into power for Bide. Normally, this wouldn't be a bad move, but in her frustration it seemed that Dawn had forgotten that Burmy knew Protect. Bide was a powerful move to be sure, but like Protect it had a drawback; while Protect had a chance to fail if you used it more than once in a row, bide had a couple flaws. Namely that for one you had to be taking damage for it to work and it also took time to charge. Of course it exchange it dealt back twice the damage you'd taken during the changing period. So depending on the situation it was worth the trade-off.

Piplup began to glow white with energy, the telltale sign that Bide was gathering energy. Ash waited until the very last second before calling his order.

"Burmy, Protect, now!" Burmy once again called the green spherical shield of Protect just as Piplup released the Bide energy. The white torrent of Bide energy hit the shield. The energy having hit a wall caused a large explosion. When the smoke cleared Piplup was unconscious with swirls in his eyes. That Bide energy had to go somewhere once it was blocked by Protect so it rebounded on to Piplup.

Dawn rushed over and scooped up her starter in her arms. "Oh, Piplup, I'm so sorry. It's my fault we lost. I forgot about Protect." She said.

"Don't feel bad, you did really good, Dawn, you almost had me." Ash comforted.

"Thanks, you were really good too. Using Bug Bite on Piplup's head was a really clever move, Ash, you'd make a good Pokémon Coordinator." Once she was sure that Piplup was alright Dawn got up and shared a high five with Ash, a mutual congratulations for the good battle they'd shared.

Ash turned his attention back to Pikachu in the tree. His starter still seemed completely unimpressed by the battle. It seemed Pikachu wouldn't be listening to him any time soon, but he was going to keep trying, no matter how frustrating his starter was.

* * *

That night Dawn woke up and sighed. She really needed to use the bathroom, going outside wasn't something that was comfortable or desirable to her. Still it was better than the alternative. She grabbed Piplup's Pokéball, put on her beanie because it was cold outside, and unzipped the door of her tent. She stepped out and glanced over to where Ash was sleeping with nothing but a sleeping bag, at least he looked comfortable. It wasn't something she would pick if she had a choice, but more power to him.

Dawn quickly found a spot to do her business and settled in. Just as she was finishing up she heard a rustling in the grass nearby. She turned to look, only to find a Pokémon rushing toward her. It took her a moment to register what it was, but when she did Dawn realized it was a Shinx. She scrambled for Piplup's Pokéball, but she didn't expect what the Shinx did next. Instead of attacking her it jumped up and snatched the beanie from her head. As the Shinx rushed off Dawn finally got off the scream that had been building since the Shinx had rushed her.

A groggy looking Ash came running to where she was. "What's wrong, Dawn; I heard you scream."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, Ash. I know this will probably sound silly to you but a Shinx stole my hat. I need to get it back. It's my favorite." Dawn was grateful it was dark so that her new friend wouldn't see the embarrassed blush on her face.

"Nah, I don't find it silly at all. That hat I wear is pretty rare. It's a Pokémon League Expo hat. The Indigo League, that's Kanto's Pokémon League, only made a hundred of them. I had to send in like a million postcards to win it. So if some Pokémon took it I would freak out too," Ash said.

"Thanks for understanding, Ash. Now let's go find that Shinx!" Dawn didn't wait for a response. Luckily Ash was able to keep up with her.

"I'm all for finding your hat Dawn, but you know I'm not from Sinnoh. We don't have Shinx back in Kanto. I don't even know what it is we're looking for," Ash said.,

"Just check your Pokédex." She replied. Ash must have pulled the device out because she soon heard the mechanical voice of Dexter.

"Shinx, the Flash Pokémon. When it senses danger, the hairs on its body light up and it runs away, leaving its opponent dazed."

"An Electric-type, not exactly a good match for Piplup. What are you going to do, Dawn? You'll probably need to battle Shinx to get your hat back. It won't be easy."

"I'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now we just need to find that Shinx," Dawn said. It took some time to find Shinx, the little Pokémon was fast and it was dark, but Dawn Berlitz wasn't one to give up that easily.

Finally, they found Shinx sleeping in a clearing using Dawn's hat as a pillow. She had to admit that it was cute, but she'd never say that out loud, not when her favorite hat was involved. Now she just had to figure out how to get it back.

"Shinx just wanted a pillow. I don't think it meant any harm," Ash whispered.

"Yeah, well she better not have gotten any grass stains on my beanie," Dawn huffed. She could tell that this particular Shinx was female because of its blue hind feet and the slightly shorter tuft of hair on her head compared to a male Shinx. Gender differences in Pokémon was a subject covered on the Sinnoh Trainer's license test.

She pulled out Piplup's Pokéball. "Go, Piplup, use Bubble Beam!" She called throwing the ball. The Pokéball opened with a loud pop and let Piplup out in a cascade of white energy. The sound of Piplup being sent out was loud enough to wake the Shinx but the poor Pokémon was too drowsy to react to the torrent of bubbles coming her way. Shinx was hit head on by the Bubble Beam and sent flying.

The little Pokémon being cat-like as she was landed on her feet with little trouble. Although being soaked with water seemed to annoy her more than anything else. She shook off the water and glared at the two Trainers in front of her.

"Uh, Dawn, I think you made her mad..." Ash was slowly stepping backward. Dawn couldn't really blame him for that reaction she supposed; after all if she had been repeatedly shocked by Pikachu she'd be wary of angry Electric-types too. Still that wasn't going to stop her. Not when her hat was on the line, her hat and her first Pokémon capture. Ash could leave if he wanted, Dawn wouldn't hold it against him, he'd already helped her find Shinx, but she wasn't going anywhere until she had her hat back and she'd captured a new Pokémon.

"Good, that means I got her attention," Dawn said. "Shinx, you took my hat. I won't let you get away with that. I challenge you to a battle!"

Shinx obviously understood what Dawn wanted as she covered her body in electricity and charged toward Piplup using her Spark attack. As the Flash Pokémon ran droplets of water flew off her still wet fur. The light from the electricity on her body combined with the refraction from the water droplets bathed the clearing in rainbow light. It was quite the breathtaking display. So breathtaking in fact that Dawn was momentarily mesmerized and failed to give Piplup any orders. Piplup was sent flying into Dawn's arms, wincing in pain from the Electric-type attack.

"Dawn, what are you doing? Focus on the battle," Ash said.

"R-Right," Dawn said as she placed Piplup back on the ground. After that beautiful display she had to catch this Shinx and find a way to replicate it. It was what any good Pokémon Coordinator would do and she was going to be a Top Coordinator.

From across the clearing she could see Shinx's eyes glowing blue. She was using Leer to lower Piplup's defense. Spark would do even more damage now and it seemed like Shinx was intent on doing just that as she once again charged toward Dawn's starter bathed in electricity.

"Dodge it!" Dawn called. Piplup did his best to get out of the way of the Flash Pokémon but Piplup was not a Pokémon known for its balance; Piplup lost its balance and fell flat on his face. The Sinnoh starter surely would have been it by the super effective attack if Shinx hadn't stumbled slightly on a puddle of water giving Piplup just enough time to roll out of the way.

Dawn was nothing if not a quick learner and her battle with Ash had shown her that unorthodox methods could be effective. She was beginning to form a plan, only time would tell if it would work or if she'd gone crazy. "Piplup, use Bubble Beam on the whole clearing!" Piplup looked momentarily confused but to his credit he followed through on the orders he was given and sprayed the whole area with Bubble Beam. The Ariados incident had built a lot of trust between him and Dawn.

The ground was now soaked with water, just as Dawn had wanted; it also did some more damage to Shinx, but that was just a fringe benefit. Shinx was coming around for another Spark, but the slippery ground was slowing her down. "Dodge it, Piplup and hit her with Bubble Beam" While Shinx found slippery ground to be a hindrance, Piplup being Penguin-like was built to live and move on ice and in water so he was much more in his element now.

Piplup was now able to gracefully dodge the oncoming attack causing Shinx to crash into a tree headfirst, no doubt rattling the little Pokémon, getting blasted with another Bubble Beam probably didn't help matters much.

"Dawn, you might want to throw a Pokéball now," Ash said.

Dawn nodded and threw the ball. The capsule opened up and converted Shinx into energy before closing. The Pokéball shook once, twice, three times and then finally with an echoing ping signaled that the Pokémon had been caught. Dawn rushed over and grabbed the Pokéball, as well as her beanie which was still laying on the ground.

The beanie was soaked, but she could dry it out. "I caught a Shinx!" She said beaming, at first she'd been apprehensive about the way her journey was going, but things were looking up.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Ash going to Sinnoh right away has already caused some big changes as you can see and it will continue to do so. I know this first chapter is a bit paint by numbers, but it kind of needed to be in order to set everything up. It will get better in later chapters.


End file.
